Dear Queenie,
Whenever I have friends visiting me at home, my mother makes comments about how they look or how they do things. She makes my friends uncomfortable and they don’t like her even though she gives them treats.
If I try to talk to her about it she just says my friends always used to like her before, so what’s the problem? The problem is that we’re all older now and they have learned to understand the things she says about them.
Queenie, how can I make her understand?—Embarrassed teenager
Dear Teenager,
I doubt you can make your mother understand, but perhaps another adult could do so. Tell another adult you trust and ask him or her to talk to your mother about this.
If she continues to do this, you will not have this problem much longer because your friends will refuse to visit you at your home. If that happens, tell your mother why, and visit your friends at their homes as often as you can.
